Glendale selects KLA to build Climate Action Adaptation Plan dashboard; commission hears implementation update

The Glendale Sustainability Commission on April 2 approved moving forward with a contract to build a public dashboard that will track implementation of the city’s Climate Action Adaptation Plan.

David, the sustainability office lead, told commissioners the city solicited proposals and selected a Boston‑based firm called KLA to design a community dashboard intended to visualize CAP measures, show status indicators and support ongoing community engagement. “The cost for the first year is 14 and a half thousand dollars,” David said, specifying a $5,000 one‑time setup fee and a $9,500 annual licensing fee.

Commissioners pressed for more granular status indicators and for mechanisms to ensure the dashboard remains current. David said the vendor will provide staff training so city employees can make regular updates and that KLA will hold monthly check‑ins and supply six hours per month of technical support. He said he would confirm whether failure to pay the annual license would make the platform inaccessible or only eliminate vendor support.

Why it matters: The dashboard is intended to move the CAP from a planning document to a publicly visible implementation tool. Staff said the city wants clear progress markers so residents and decisionmakers can see which measures are in progress, completed or not started.

David described other CAP implementation steps: the city has formed an internal CAP team with representatives from Glendale Water & Power, Public Works (including Integrated Waste Management), Community Services and Parks, Fire, Police, Community Development, Human Resources and Finance. That team will review phase‑one measures and report back on April 30 with department‑level status updates.

Staff noted grant activity and regional partnerships tied to CAP goals. David said the sustainability office applied for a Climate Smart Communities planning grant to help develop resilience centers and described outreach to regional networks such as the Los Angeles regional collaboration and Green Cities California.

Regulatory context: David told the commission that local reach‑code ordinances (adopted as part of the city’s heat‑pump and building electrification work) are under review by state regulators. He said those ordinances “are on the books, but they're not enforceable until the Building Standards Commission reviews them,” and indicated the city has responded to requests for information under Assembly Bill 1130. Staff also said the city plans to do a second greenhouse‑gas inventory in 2027 to measure progress against the CAP baseline.

Commissioner suggestions and next steps: Commissioners recommended mixing outreach channels (social media, newsletters and in‑person outreach), providing multilingual content (Armenian and Spanish were mentioned), adding timestamps to each indicator so viewers know when data were last updated, and running internal or small‑group previews of the dashboard before public launch. David said the vendor contract and scope of work are being finalized and that staff expect to begin the dashboard setup once the professional services agreement is executed.

The commission did not take a separate vote on the dashboard contract during the meeting; staff said they were completing contract paperwork with KLA before formal procurement steps conclude and that a follow‑up will be scheduled as needed.